Gear and pinion lubricator



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GEAR AND PINIoN LUBRIcAToR Filed Jan .v 19. 1929 Patented Feb. 3, 1931narra STATES PATENT {o1-"Fics TonnnNcn r. s'rFFL'EB., or wiLKINsBURs,PENNSYLVANIA, issie-Non, BY iwnsNnAs- SIGNMENTS, rro PENNsYLvnNIALUBRICATING COMPANY, oF rrrTsBUasI-r, PENN- sYLvANIA, A conroaa'rIoN onDELAWARE i f l GEAR AND SPINION LUBRICATOR Application filed January 19,1929. `Serial No. 333,573.

This invention relates to gear lubrication,

Aand especially to lubricators lfor enclosed gear and pinion assemblies.Y

Lubrication of gear assemblies requiring a non-liquid lubricant, such asa heavybodied grease, has heretofore been unsatisfactory in manyinstances, lespecially in the case of street railway car drivescomprising a. pinion and gearenclosed in a housing. The common practicein such drives is to place sufficient lubricant in the gear housing tocause the bottom of the pinion and gear to run in it, adding lubricantoccasionally to replace that used in operation. This practicepresupposes that the gears pick up suiiicient lubricant in movingthroughit to afford satisfactory lubrication. Ti-lowever the grease may, andsometimes does, stiffen or harden to such a degree that an insucientamount is gathered by the gears. For these and other reasons, the drivesare frequently not properly lubricated, and trouble and damage mayfollow.

rThe object of the invention is to provide means for supplying anon-liquid lubricant in regulated amounts at recurrent intervals to gearassemblies, which is of simple and inexpensive construction, andpositivev and enmicient in action. y

fin especial object of the invention is to provide means associated withthe housing enclosing a drive pinion and gear for supplying a.non-liquid lubricant directly to the intermeshed teeth of the gears bygravity flow, and in which the lubricant is intermittently supplied tothe gears in small amounts.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Fig.1 is a side elevation of a gear box equipped with a.`

lubricator in accordance with the invention; Fig. 2 is a plan View or"the lubricator shell; Fig. 3 is a vertical section through thelubricator shell talren on line III- TIL Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a plan viewof an assembledlubricater; and Fig. 5 'is an enlarged side eleva-f tionof the lubricator shown in Fig. 1.

Although in itsVV broader aspects the invention is applicable generallyto gear assemblies, it is particularly adapted foruse with i a lubricantcontainer.v

formed in the base,through which lubricant 13; ,flows to the gears.Thisaperture is adapted to permit slow llow of the lubricant, `in agearrand pinion drives of the street railway i car type referred to, andywill be described in its v'application thereto..V Such a drive isshownschematically in Fig. 1, in which a` gear box or housing 1enc-loses a ypinion 2 carriedl on av motor drive shaftA `3 which mesheswith a gear Li1mounted,on'aXle,v 5. This construction is well knowninthe art.

A non-liquid lubricant is furnished to the gear and pinion fromalubricator adapted to supply the lubricant intermittently in regulatedamountsby gravity flow' in drop-like :ico

form directly to the point where the teeth of o the gear and pinion.intermeslr This f is preferably accomplished kby means of a lubrii,cator 6, Fig. 1'.- Non-liquid butv semi-solid greases that have theproperty of-slowly oozing through a small orificeV and collecting as adrop. beyond it 'are known and 1n present use: Such greases .will kliowvvery little .when ,cold,.but as 1n the presentcase,v when the gear boxwarms up in use a normal flow will continue as long as the drive isv.opera-ting. Sufficient grease will'always be on the gears to lubricatethe starting period before normal -flow of grease commences.

As shown in Figsu to' 5, the lubricator comprises a shell 7 Ywhich witha base8 forms `An aperture 9V is manner to be explained presently. Thelubricator is preferably provided with la lid `to `keep dirt and otherforeign material-frome- ToV this end,thearms of a U- shaped member 10attachedto the top of one Y 'of the sid-e wallsform brackets forreceiving the grease.

a shaft 11 on which'ispivota'lly mounted a lid 12, (Figs. l and5) heldin closed posi-ftion by a coilspring 13. The. spring shown comprises alength ofspring wire coiledat each end, the portionintermediate the endsbeing bent .to forma loop liifwhich bears against the top of the lid andholds it shuti until the Vlid'is raised 'by application-of pressure toAlug-15. Y. Theshell, lid, andbase are preferably formed fromsheet metal.'Other `forms of spring may,=of course bepused.

lVhen used with a drive lof the type show/1151100 in Fig. 1, base 8 ofthe lubricato-r is riveted, spot Welded, or connected in any otherdesired manner to the top of the gear box, as shown in Fig. 1, with theshell in an upright 5 position, the aperture being positioned over theopening ord-inarily provided in such boxes. This position-s thelubricator so that the grease falls between the pinion and gear, asVshown in Fig. 1, thereby securing positive application of the grease tothe gears. It also positions the lubricator where it is exposed to heatof the gear box in action.

In'the use of the lubricator 'provided by the invention shell 7 isfilled with a suitable lubricant such as the heavy semi-solid butnon-liquid 4greases which are however capable of slow iiow through anorifice-.under gravity. Such a lubricant slowly flows out of aperture 9,and when`=the VWeight of a drop that has passed through th-e orificeexceeds the cohesive strength of the` lubricant, the drop falls, thusgiving a constant but intermittent flow of lubricant to the gears. Y Theposition of the vshell 7 on the sloping 335 v*face of the housingresults in a sloping bottom, and the 'aperture 9 is positioned adjacentits lowermost'end,as seenin Fig. 3. The drop-like action isincreased further by forming aperture 9 in a spherical depression 16,Fig. :3, struck outwardly from the base. The lubricant Hows into thiscup-like member WhoseY sloping Walls direct it into the aperture and aidthe drop forma-tion. The depression is formed toward the lowermost end'and centrally of the base. in construction will be apparent to thoseyskilled inthe art.

I claim z' 1. The combination with a gear box and gears enclosedtherein,o means for applying a non-liquid lubricant in regulated amountsOther variations Y y said base plate being provided centrally adj acentits lowermost endwith a downwardly projecting depression, and saidaperture being formed in said depression.

In testimony whereof, I sign my name.

TRRENCE F. VSTIFFLER. v`

' to said gears comprising a lubricant con- 'tainer having side wallsand a base provided with an' raperture connecting the container and'gear box, said aperture being formed to permit intermittent supply oi'fresh lubricant in small amounts to the gears.

2. The combination with a gear box and applying a non-liquid lubricantin regulated amount to said gears comprising upright side walls Jforminga lubricant-containing shell, and va base connected to the shell at anangle toits'longitudinal axis andprovided adja- Ycent its l'owermost endwith an aperture congears enclosed therein, of a lubricator for Y

